An unidentified man has been granted a restraining order against his sister, complaining that she has been entering his room repeatedly over the past 8 years between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. to clean it before going back to her own residence. Citing an invasion of his privacy, the man explained that it had caused him so much stress that he actually checked himself into a mental health facility more than once. In her defense, the sister explained that she merely wanted to clean her brother’s room because he didn’t. The court said the sole issue was whether the sister’s acts in repeatedly entering her brother’s room to clean it amounted to “continual harassment with intent to cause anguish.” The judge said that "ordinarily a sibling cleaning another sibling’s room would be harmless — indeed a loving act — and most certainly would not amount to harassment.” However, he said that what may be harmless under one set of circumstances might be highly distressing in another. The sister didn’t dispute the fact that she had gone into her brother’s room to clean it in the wee hours of the night, but she did so because she has to work. The brother explained that he had been stressed out by having to rush home and lock his door to keep his sister out, with little success. The restraining order was issued because the judge determined that the evidence clearly showed that the sister was aware that her brother didn’t want her in his room. Breaching a restraining order is a criminal offense punishable by a fine, a jail term, or both.
